Konoha High
by Weekend Warriors
Summary: Naruto; AU; High schools is tough for everyone. Even the cast of Naruto. Multiple OCxNaruto character pairings.
1. Konoha High: Story Update

Dear readers of our story, **Konoha High**.

Recently, we've been re-reading our story, and we've decided while we do like the story and the concept, we were not the biggest fans of the way the plot fleshed out or how the characters developed. So we will be doing a complete rewrite of the story, starting now! I hope you'll stick with us through this process, and that you enjoy the new story!

Sincerely,

J&L


	2. Prologue

**Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto, if that wasn't already obvious.**

**Konoha High: Prologue**

* * *

I admired the scenic view from the balcony of my new room, taking in the sun rising from the azure sea along with a breath full of salty ocean air. A seagull perched itself on the splintered railing it's hollow eyes begging me for something to eat.

"Shoo!" I alleged swatting at it with my arm. It flew away promptly, cawing what I took as a goodbye. Unfortunately, I didn't speak seagull so accepting the fact that I would never really know what the bird said, I stepped back into my room.

It was a small space with just enough room for my bed, and dresser, but not nearly enough room for the cardboard moving boxes scattered all over the floor. I tiptoed around them, careful not to step on anything that might be fragile and headed down the staircase.

"Good morning." My mother said in her usual sing song voice, she was standing in front of the stove minding the fried egg cooking in the pan.

"Good morning." I responded, taking a seat at the small round table in our kitchen. "Where is everyone?"

"Adam went to open up the Surf Shack, Julia's still sleeping and who knows where Jason is." She said.

She put a plate of toast and a fried egg in front of me. "Eat up; you don't want to be late."

I nodded in agreement, my mouth already to full to talk. I could hear someone ascending the staircase and from the loud thump of someone jumping a few steps I knew it could be none other than Jason

"Good morning everyone, Maria may I also have some breakfast?"

"Of course you may Jason, anything for my newly acquired son." My mother joked, getting back up and busying herself at the stove once more.

My step brother, as of two weeks ago, was dressed in a loose fitting navy blue plaid shirt, medium wash destroyed jeans and black skate shoes with white laces. His short brown hair was nicely spiked far from his usual bed head, to show off his newest piercing, a small silver hoop on his right helix.

"Well someone looks dapper this morning. What's the occasion?" I teased.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, trying hard to conceal his annoyance.

"Mom, don't you think Jason looks _dapper?_"

"Shut-up you little-!" he snapped.

"Alright, stop it you two!" My mother intervened, placing a plate full of breakfast in front of Jason. "Don't listen to her; I think you look very rad."

I snickered behind my long locks of brown hair.

Jason dropped his head in exasperation. "Thanks for trying Maria, but… but don't ever use that word in a sentence again."

My mother shrugged. "Alright well, I'm going to go check on Julia now. You two should get going."

"Okay, bye mom." I said, slinging my grey messenger bag over my shoulder and grabbing my red Vans from off the tiled floor. Jason followed in suit.

"So are you excited for you first day at Konoha High?" Jason asked me, kicking up sand with his black skate shoes.

"Yeah, kind of, I guess." I replied avoiding his gaze.

"This is awkward, isn't it?"

I shook my head in agreement, "Little bit…"

He looked at me with apologetic eyes. Living together, going to the same school, these were the first steps we were taking as step siblings.

"But… I'm sure we'll get used to it eventually." I assured him, walking next to him now rather than ahead.

"Yeah, I'm sure we will." He laughed, lightly punching me in the arm. "Little sis."

The high school wasn't too far from the Sugiura beach house; if we were fast it was only about ten minutes. There were short cuts too, but Jason told me that they were very tricky and it wasn't really worth it if they weren't necessary. Anyways it was more fun if you went through the streets, that way you would be able to take a glimpse at the ocean as well.

"Is that the school?" I asked Jason, pointing to a large campus up ahead.

"You bet Lena. Are you ready?"

"Bring it." I replied with confidence.

A new house, a new family, and now a new school, this is going to be one heck of a year.

* * *

Darkness. Pure, saturated black surrounded me as I curled up into a tight ball beneath my blankets. Not a single speck of light could be found in my room. And it was perfect. My eyes fluttered open, my internal clock telling me to get up, but my room told me otherwise. I yawned loudly, grabbing off the edge of my king sized bed for my remote. I clicked a small blue button, as I shoved the covers off of my body, shivering as I left the warmth. The sun began to light up my room as the blinds on my windows began to roll up. The ocean was just coming into view when my brother knocked on my door.

"Andi? You up?" The door clicked as he opened it, poking his head inside. His dark brown hair was already styled into its standard Brit rock look; short on the sides, with his fringe coming down to just touch his eyebrows.

"Yea, I just woke up." I yawned at him, stretching my arms above my head. "Do I have to go to school today, Christian?"

He leaned against the wall and shook his head. "This is why I told you not to sign on for that shoot in Milan! I knew you were going to be too tired to go to school today." He scratched his head and looked at his watch. "Ok, I'll give you 15 more minutes to sleep, but you have to go today." He turned around to leave, but stopped himself.

"I'll make you French toast, so make sure you get up!"

I threw a pillow in his general direction as he slipped back through the door, closing it loudly behind him. Falling back on my bed, I watched the sun rising above the horizon. I was too awake to go back to sleep now. I slid my pale legs over the edge of my bed, my feet clad in thick pink socks. I stood up and touched my toes, my joints and back cracking as I stretched.

"Today is going to be one heck of a long day." I said quietly to myself as I walked towards my bathroom. After a quick shower, I walked into my closet, and prepared my outfit for the day: a white lace button up with a pink crop-top, and high-waisted denim shorts. I pulled out a few long silver chains; one adorned with a bejeweled cross, and strung them around my neck. As I walked back out of the closet, I grabbed a pair of white floral print Doc Martens.

My hair hung down to the small of my back, brown that faded to a light blonde at the ends. It was already beginning to dry and form loose waves as I applied my makeup. My dressing table was littered with candy wrappers, makeup, release forms, and pages torn from magazines, many of which had my face staring back at me.

I quickly threw the covers back on my bed, haphazardly tossing the pillows back into place, and grabbed my iPad from my bedside table. I grabbed my bag, which was made of black studded leather, and threw it inside, along with my phone, keys, and wallet. I grabbed a pen from my drawer, and a little notebook I always carried with me for writing down names and contact numbers. Lastly I grabbed my sunglasses, and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

My house was almost entirely stark white, and it was radiant in the morning sunlight. Almost every inch of wall was taken up by a window. I descended the staircase from the second floor, and the scent of maple syrup hit my nose. I followed it to the kitchen, where Christian had his back to me, humming along to some tune on the radio as he made breakfast. He saw me and smiled.

"Morning munchkin!" he chirped as he laid four pieces of French toast out onto a plate, with some bacon on the side.

"I'm 5'8". I'm not a munchkin, Christian." I stated, as he slid the plate towards me. I took a seat at our island, and began to dig in. The sweet taste of syrup filled my mouth, and I motioned for Christian to grab me a drink. He nodded, pulling a mug out of the cupboard and filling it with rich, dark coffee. I took it from him and took a large gulp, relishing in the bitterness of it.

"Blech. I will never understand where you got your love of black coffee from." Christian said, shuddering. The clock on the wall told me it was 8 o'clock, meaning I still had ample time to get to school. I cleaned my plate, grabbing the last piece of bacon and shoving it whole into my mouth. Christian frowned at me as I stuck my dishes into the dishwasher, and grabbed my coffee from the island.

"You know, sometimes I think you could stand to take an etiquette class." I shrugged as I took another gulp from my mug.

"I probably could, but I'm polite enough when it counts!" I turned and went back towards the staircase. "Thanks for breakfast!"

"I want to leave around 8:30 if we're going to be picking up Alex!" he called after me.

I skipped up the stairs, significantly happier now that I had been fed and given my necessary dosage of caffeine, and returned to my room. I grabbed my remote off the bed and clicked another button, triggering my iPod dock to start blasting The Black Keys. I turned it down a few notches, and then sat down on my couch. I began lacing up my boots, when I heard my phone going off in my bag. I reached in, grabbed the sleek mobile, and slide a finger across the touch screen, answering the call.

"Hello, Andi Taylor speaking." I recited into the phone. I could hear someone chuckling on the other side. "Hello?"

"Andi, this isn't your work phone." I heard a smooth voice tell me from the ear piece of the phone. I grinned and smacked my forehead.

"Oh my god, I am so dumb some times." I shook my head, "How are you Alex? I haven't talked to you in weeks!"

"I'm good, more or less the same as usual. How was Milan?"

"It was great! They want to sign me again in the spring when they start shooting for the Autumn/Winter season again." I grinned to myself.

"That's great! But it must suck to be back home now after being in Italy for three weeks"

I laid on my couch, twirling a piece of my hair around my finger. "Yea, I miss the food mostly. But I had to come back for school. Speaking of which, I'm going to be picking you up soon. You ready to go?"

"Yup! I'll see you in ten?"

"Yea, see you soon!" I ended the call, slipping my phone back into my bag. I finished lacing up my other boot, and ran back down to the main floor. Christian was waiting for me in the foyer, keys in hand.

"You ready to go?" he asked, playing with his keys. I checked myself in the mirror one last time before we went. I dug my sunglasses out of my bag and put them on my head.

"All set!" I followed Christian out the door, locking it behind me. It was a warm and sunny out, with just the slightest chill left over from the early morning hours. I passed by our more expensive sports cars and hopped into the passenger seat of our new Range Rover. Christian got in and started the car, and began pulling out of our driveway. I pulled my phone out of my bag once again, and plugged it into the A/V cable that was hanging out of the dash. Bloc Party started blaring out of the stereo, as we merged onto the highway. I watched intently as the ocean rolled by my window, gazing at the large houses that adorned the beach front.

After a few minutes, our car pulled into a smaller gated community. Alex's house was a modest villa, and I could see him waiting on the front porch. His brown-blonde hair was short on the sides, and the longest parts were styled upwards. He wore a navy blue jacket with a gold 'K' on the front; his letterman jacket. He smiled at me as we pulled into his driveway, and he began walking towards our car. He opened up the door, and slid into the seat behind Christian's.

"Hey Andi, Christian." He said, as he threw his bag onto the seat next to him. I turned around and smiled at him, before turning back to change the song to an upbeat Mumford & Sons song. "So, you stoked for sophomore year Andi?"

I laughed. "Oh, I am absolutely ecstatic." The sarcasm was dripping from my words, as I peered at him over my sunglasses. "I just can't wait to deal with all the drama again. Really. Cannot wait."

"Yea, like who gets the lead in this years play?" I rolled my eyes as I was reminded of last years fight between Ino and Sakura . It was sure to be another good fight this year. I could see the school coming into view through some trees, and began to make the necessary preparations. I opened the visor mirror, quickly checking my makeup on last time. Christian pulled into the drop-off zone, and I could see plenty of familiar faces milling around the courtyard.

"Ready?" I sighed, turning to look at Alex in the back seat. He smirked at me, and slid his sunglasses over his eyes again.

"As I'll ever be."


	3. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, if that wasn't already obvious.**

**Konoha High**

* * *

_ANDI_

The courtyard of the school was alive with students rushing this way and that, like a thriving colony of ants. Old students reuniting, new students nervously looking out for people they might now. I hoisted my bag up higher on my shoulder and put my sunglasses back on my face as Alex stood next to me. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. I hooked arms with my best friend, and began walking towards the center of the courtyard: the fountain. As we approached, I saw a familiar tangle of light brown spikes and a smile spread across my face.

"Kiba!" I shouted, unlinking from Alex and starting towards the tall brunette at a run. Just as he turned to look at me, I pounced onto him in a bone crushing hug; he caught me with perfect timing. He knew me well.

"Andi! You're back!" he put me down, letting his fingers linger a moment on my waist. I grinned up at him, pulling away from his arms. I saw Naruto get up from where he was sitting on the edge of the fountain, followed by Sasuke and Gaara. I waved at the rest of the group, and Alex finally rejoined the group. "Hey Alex."

"Hey guys." He said, "Where's Ino and Sai?"

"They went to the lounge to get coffee, they told us to meet them there." Naruto said as he stood up, sticking out his hand. "'sup Andi." I went to shake it, but he quickly pulled it away. "Psych! I want a hug." He winked as he pulled me in close for a hug. His bright orange hoodie nearly smothered me in the process.

Walking into the school, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia from the year before. I readjusted myself to my surroundings once again, as we walked into the quad. I waved at familiar faces, and some not so familiar, as we walked across the stone paving, the trees dappling the sunlight on the ground. Sasuke and Alex had just gotten into an intense conversation about the concert series they had gone to see during the summer. Kiba walked up next to me and grinned wolfishly.

"So, you going to be my little cheerleader again this year?" he chuckled, "I plan on rocking the football team this year too." I laughed, and punched his arm lightly.

"We'll see! I'm gonna have to talk to Coach Anko about what the practice schedule is going to be like first, because I'm probably going to be out of town a lot this year, probably even more than last year." Kiba visibly pouted at this comment.

"You better be able to at least catch a few of my games during the season! And during track season too." I smirked at him as we entered the student lounge across the quad.

"I'll try, sweetie pie." I patted him on the head, as I spotted Ino and Sai at the counter waiting for their coffee. "I'll be back in a second!"

I bounded off towards Ino, stopping right next to her at the counter. She turned around quickly, her eyes wide. She grinned from ear to ear as she grabbed on to me.

"Andi!" she shrieked, yanking me into a tight hug. I could feel my internal organs being compressed. As I pulled away from her, I noticed her outfit. She wore a tight fitting lilac polo with a white blazer, and a pastel pink pleated skirt. She had caramel brown combat boots on her feet and was the picture of a perfectly preppy girl. Her long blonde hair was tied up in its usual high ponytail with a white ribbon. "I'm so glad you're home!"

"Me too!" I said, noticing Sai over her shoulder. "Baby!"

"Darling!" he squealed, moving Ino out of the way and giving me a quick hug. "Oh my god, we need to do lunch ASAP, I have so much to tell you!" I laughed at him as I turned to the barista.

"Can I get a large coffee, black?" She nodded, turning to her machine and quietly making my drink. I could see Naruto and Kiba rapidly discussing something in the distance. I threw a five on the counter and grabbed my coffee, giving a quick thanks to the barista. "Kiba and Naruto look pretty suspicious. I'm gonna go see what their up too. I'll see you guys at lunch?"

"Totally!" Ino waved, as I walked back over to the circle of boys. Kiba and Naruto were deep in conversation when I got there. "What's going on?"

"Andi! There is a new girl and she looks really cute!" Naruto whined, pointing at a girl with long brown hair standing next to the map of the school. She was wearing an olive green tank top with a black mini-skirt, and a grey messenger bag. Her brows were furrowed as she scanned the map, tracing her finger along different paths and hallways. Definitely cute.

"Yea, what about her?" I asked, as we all continued to monitor her movements.

"Well, Naruto wants to go and flirt with her, but I think she's out of his league." Kiba chuckled, rustling Naruto's hair. Naruto frowned, and tried to fix it.

"Man! You people don't appreciate how long it takes me to fix my hair in the morning, do you?" grumbled the blonde, attempting to flatten his hair again. "Anyways, I'm going to go talk to her!" Naruto adjusted his orange hoodie, and waltzed over towards the brunette. We sat down on one of the nearby couches, observing the interaction going on in front of us. Naruto leaned against the wall. The brunette looked up with a confused look in her eyes. Naruto flailed his arms a bit. She laughed, but still looked a little confused. Kiba could barely suppress his laughter.

"The poor guy, he's freaking her out!" he said, burying his face in a nearby pillow. I watched as she began talking to him. She took out her schedule and compared it with Naruto's. Then, the next thing I knew, she was walking back towards our group with Naruto.

"I don't think that he did." I said, elbowing him and motioning for him to look. His eyes went wide when he saw Naruto walking back with the brunette. He was grinning like an idiot.

"Hey guys, this is Lena Sugiura, she just moved here and she's in our grade!" chirped Naruto happily, pushing Lena in front of himself. She waved nervously at us.

"Hey?" she said, the slightest hint of confusion still in her voice. I smiled at her. She was prettier up close, and she seemed pretty nice. I decided I would try and be her friend.

"Hi Lena, I'm Andi." I said waving at her. "These are some of our friends, Kiba, Sasuke, Gaara, and Alex." There was a chorus of 'hey's and 'hello's all around, and she acknowledged most of the members of the group. I took a sip of my coffee as she began to speak.

"Yea, I guess Naruto and I have first period together, so we're gonna head that way now. Anybody else?" She looked around at the rest of the group, waiting for a response. Gaara was the only one to respond.

"That's Science right? I think I'm with you guys then." He said quietly, picking up his back pack from the floor, slinging it over one shoulder. Lena smiled at him, "Nobody else?"

"Nah, I got a spare, and the rest of these chumps have got Art." yawned Kiba. "I'm only here today because it's required for you to come for all four periods of the day on the first day of school."

"Ok then. I guess we'll see you guys later!" Naruto waved as they began to make their way towards their class room. I waved back as they left, before turning to Sasuke and Alex. There were ten minutes before class started, so I stood up coffee in hand and picked up my bag.

"Alright guys, we should probably head out too." Alex and Sasuke stood up, picking up their things as they did. "Kiba, what are you doing during first then?"

He laid back onto the couch, lazily winking at me. "I'm taking a nap right here. I've got nothing better to do right now anyways. Text me though, I'll be bored." I nodded at him, before patting his head.

"Alright, bye puppy, see you in English!" I called back, as I walked away with Alex and Sasuke. The halls were just starting to clear out as we walked down the hall to our art class room. It was a large room, made of mostly wood panelling, and had lots of windows running along the side of it. The smell of paint was heavy in the air, even though all the windows were open. We grabbed stools at the desk nearest the windows, and took our seats. Sasuke sat to my right, and Alex on my left. Sasuke leaned over to me.

"So, when are you and Kiba gonna cut the crap and start dating already." He said smirking. I glared at him, and flicked a pencil at his head. He dodged it narrowly.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We don't like each other like that." Our teacher, Jiraiya, walked into the room and set his bags down on his desk, but he hardly seemed to notice there was a class in the room. He sat down in his chair and put his feet up on his desk, rubbing his eyes. I figured it was okay to continue my conversation. "We flirt with each other, but it's purely platonic. We're just friends." Sasuke shrugged and turned around to face Jiraya.

"Try telling that to Kiba." As I was about to retort, Jiraiya smacked a book on his desk. All eyes were drawn to him, but his eyes still weren't even open. He felt around for a pair of sunglasses that were on his desk, and slid them onto his face. He sat up a bit, and glanced at the class.

"Alright… welcome to Visual Arts, I'm Jiraiya your teacher. For your first assignment, I ask that you get a sheet of newsprint from the back of the class, and draw whatever the heck you like for the entirety of the class. Your challenge is to remain as quiet as possible. Begin."

It was always obvious when Jiraiya had a hangover during class. I shook my head and grabbed a couple of sheets of the large paper, and set them down at my desk. I grabbed a pencil and began to doodle on the corner of the first sheet. Alex and Sasuke followed suit, and soon the whole class was sketching, with only the slightest murmur of conversation buzzing around the room. Most of the student had put headphones on and connected to their iPods, but Alex, Sasuke, and I liked to talk while we worked. And talk we did.

"So Andi, meet any sexy boys in Milan?" teased Alex, while he sketched the girl who was sitting across from him.

"Actually… I did." I didn't take my eyes off of my page, but I could just imagine the looks on the guys faces.

"Andi, you're kidding me. What did you do?" hissed Sasuke. I looked over at him with squinted eyes.

"Nothing terrible, although I'm sure that's what you're imagining." I scoffed, continuing to doodle a series of flowers and plants across my page. "I just went out with this model a couple of times, nothing serious. But he might be coming to Cali for some work later on, so you guys might get to meet him."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, as long as you're still the picture of purity, it's fine by me."

I laughed at him, as he began adding the finishing touches on his sketch. It was funny how Alex loved to take responsibility for my actions. In some ways, he was like a second older brother to me. He had always been one of my best friends, and was always looking out for me. Even when I was out of the country, he would stay up until all hours of the night to talk to me and make sure I was ok. Even Christian wasn't that involved in my safety. But that's what made him my best friend.

The rest of the class passed by quickly, and soon enough it was time to head to our next class. I packed up my sketches, stuffing them into my bag, as we moved back out into the hallway and into the flow of student traffic.

"Come on, let's go wake sleeping beauty." I said, heading to where we last left Kiba- sleeping on a sofa in the lounge.

Despite spending a much longer time trying to wake Kiba than planned, we managed to arrive to our next class before the bell. Unfortunately there were only a few seats left scattered throughout the room. Kiba took the vacant seat at the back next to Naruto, and Sasuke took the last window seat. I quickly sat down in the seat Ino had been saving for me, leaving Alex to the desk at the front and center of the room

I scanned over the class room; I recognized nearly all the faces. There was Shikamaru, Chouji and Sakura all sitting in the other desks within Ino's vicinity, and Gaara who had taken his usual seat in the back corner by the window. Karin, who I noticed was drooling over Sasuke, was sitting on the other side of the room, and Suigetsu sat next to her. Shino and Hinata had willingly taken the seats at the front of the class.

Everyone was here. Everyone, except for that new girl… what was her name again? Leia? Lilo? No that's not right… Lena! She was nowhere to be found. Ino turned around to look at Naruto.

"Hey Naruto, where's your girlfriend?" she teased.

"She's not my-! She said she was going to go talk to some senior before class." Said Naruto, "I hope she didn't get lost…" I heard him mutter towards the end.

A few minutes later and the bell rang, and still no Lena. But even more strange, no teacher had entered the room yet. Suddenly, the door flew open and a brown blur dashed into the room.

"Ah, ah, ah, I'm so sorry!" Lena shrieked, stumbling into class. "I-I'm new and I got lost. It will never happen again! I promise!"

The class burst into laughter. "What?" A confused Lena asked the class, but it only took a minute for her to realise her blunder. Blushing bright red, she took the last remaining seat at the front, right next to Alex.

Five minutes passed then ten, then 15. The class sat confused, still waiting for our teacher to walk in the door, apologise for his lateness, and then begin with the lesson. But there was still no teacher. I checked my phone; 17 minutes had gone past and I was getting tired of waiting. I turned around to Kiba.

"How long do we have to wait for a teacher to show up before we can leave?"

"Fifteen minutes I'm pretty sure." I perked up at that. I quickly threw my things back in my bag, and slung it over my shoulder. Kiba gave me a perplexed look, but quickly caught on.

"Feel like going for an early lunch?" I asked, looking at Naruto and Ino. Ino grinned and stood up, picking up her things. Naruto nodded in agreement, and shouted at Lena.

"HEY LENA, YOU WANT TO GO FOR LUNCH WITH US?" he had cupped his hands around his mouth, and Kiba smacked them away.

"Dude, she's right there, you don't need to shout." Naruto shrugged, putting on his back pack. Sasuke, Alex and Gaara also joined our group for lunch. After gathering our things, it was already 20 after, and the rest of the class was beginning to make plans for what they were going to do since our teacher was still absent from the classroom. I walked out of the classroom, followed by the rest of my peers, and into the quiet hallway. We made our way out to the quad, and back into the warm sunshine.

"So, where do you guys want to go?" Naruto asked. He was being followed closely by Lena, who still looked kind of nervous about hanging out with us. I shrugged and turn around to look at Kiba.

"You've got your truck right?" he nodded, pulling his keys out from his pocket. "Sweet deal! Let's go to IHOP!"

"IHOP? Again?" Sasuke shook his head. "We always go there, and it's so greasy." I stared at him with wide eyes.

"The grease is what makes it delicious. Now let's get in the truck and go, I need some bacon stat." We all ran to the student parking lot, calling seats in the truck. "Shot gun!" I shouted, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Damn it Andi, you always get shotty." Whined Naruto, as he climbed into the back seat of the truck with Lena and Ino. Sasuke, Gaara and Alex, not particularly caring about where they sat, piled into the flatbed, lying down so that they wouldn't be spotted. Kiba started up his truck, and it made a dull roar as we pulled out of the parking lot. Kiba's truck was only two years old, but after having driving in it for a few months; it seemed as if it had been around for centuries.

It only took a few minutes before we were at our favourite hangout. The IHOP welcomed us with smells off pancakes and waffles, and we were all in heaven, except for Sasuke. We sat in a booth near a window, cramming everyone in. A waitress brought over menus, before returning quickly to the kitchen with a promise of being right back.

"Mmm, French toast, bacon, waffles, pancakes, I want it all!" I moaned, reading the menu hungrily. "Kiba, you'll share whatever you order with me, won't you?"

Kiba smiled and sighed. "Yes, I'll share with you. Should we do the usual then? I'll get the stuffed French toast; you get the strawberry pancakes, and we both get with bacon." I nodded happily, stacking our menus on top of each other.

"You know me too well." I smiled. By now, most of the group had their orders ready. But Lena was still reading over the menu, practically drooling

"It all sounds so good!" she gushed, her eyes darting back and forth across the pages of the menu.

"Believe us. It is." Ino confirmed, "We come here _a lot_. We were here at least twice a week last year. They basically stay in business because of us."

"You act like you've never eaten at an IHOP before!" Kiba joked, waving the waitress over.

"But, I haven't." We all stared at her like a deer in headlights, and by the look she gave us in return, it frightened her. "My mom's always believed in home cooked meals… we've never been a family to eat out much, and my friends never had much money on them."

Suddenly Naruto broke into a contagious laughter that spread like wild fire. "Lena, until now you've never lived. IHOP is the single greatest invention since the beginning of time. Like, forget sliced bread. This is where it's at."

"I still don't know what to order though!" she mumbled, growing frantic as the waitress approached. "What should I get?"

"Well, everything's good. What do you like?" asked Naruto, leaning over to look at the menu with her. Kiba and I smirked at each other.

"Well, anything chocolate is good." Lena dragged a finger down the rows of text. "Oh my gosh, they have Nutella crepes?" She threw down her menu, looking very triumphant. "I know what I'm ordering!"

We all laughed as the waitress reached our table. We quickly rattled off our orders, letting her return to the kitchen. The group returned to talking and laughing while we waited for our food. I turned to Lena, who was quietly listening to Naruto talk to Sasuke about what new band he was in to.

"So Lena, when did you move here?" she looked surprised that I talked to her, but smiled.

"I actually only moved here a couple of weeks ago," she said, playing with a piece of her long hair, "but it's been pretty good so far."

"That's good. Yea, it's a pretty cool city, once you find the hidden gems." Just then our food came out, and everyone was prepared to satisfy their IHOP cravings. We all dug in hungrily, extremely happy with our very early lunch. There was silence for a few minutes as we shoveled pancakes and waffles into our mouths.

After we had all been fully satisfied, we paid our bills and piled back into Kiba's truck. Lunch was ending in fifteen minutes, and we had to be back in time for our next classes. The ride back was short, and soon we were all splitting up to go to class. Before she left, I tapped Lena on the shoulder. She turned with a puzzled look on her face.

"Hey, give me your number before you go to class." I stuck out my phone for her, and she grabbed it, quickly typing her number in. I smiled, taking back the phone. "I'll text you so you can have my number too. We should hang out sometime."

"Yea, totally." She nodded, as Naruto called her name in the distance. "I'll be right there! Alright, I'll talk to you later Andi!" I waved as she walked away to catch up with Naruto.

The rest of the day went fairly quickly, with barely any disturbances in the scheduled classes for the afternoon. Pretty soon, I was sitting in the quad with Ino and Kiba, waiting for Sai to come and meet us. It wasn't very long before he came running towards us at mach speeds, a very troubled look on his face. He stopped in front of us, panting and wheezing.

"What's wrong Sai?" asked Ino, passing him her water bottle. He grabbed it and took a swig, still breathing heavily.

"Karin… is having… a party!" he gasped between breaths, his brow furrowed. "We need… to host… a better one!"

"Sai, come on!" I whined, "I just want to watch Game of Thrones in my underwear tonight while I have the chance!" Kiba nodded.

"Yeah, Sai. Game of Thrones and underwear!" Sai frowned at us.

"Come on; just have the crew over to swim for a couple of hours. Those are the only people she's really inviting to this thing anyways. And then you can watch your weirdo HBO porn in your underwear, you freaks." He shuddered. We had tried to get Sai into Game of Thrones once. But frankly, he couldn't stomach the blood or gratuitous nudity.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Alright Sai, do your duty. Call the crew, tell them to meet at my house at 4. And tell them they better bring me snacks, because I am doing them a freakin' service." Sai grinned, clapping his hands together.

"Andi, you are beautiful and perfect and I love you." Sai gushed, pulling out his phone and beginning to send one of his infamous mass texts. "I'll see you at 4 then! Love you!" He waved as he skipped away, happy with the job he had just done. I stood up, grabbing my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

"Well… I guess I'm having a party."


	4. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, if that wasn't already obvious.**

**Konoha High**

* * *

_LENA_

I stepped out of the school, much less nervous than when I stepped in this morning. I raised my arms above my head, stretching them heaven bound, letting the bright sunlight blanket me. "That wasn't so bad I guess." I assured myself. I could hear heavy foot fall running up behind me, and I turned quickly to see who it was.

"Lena, wait up!" Naruto shouted, as he and Kiba caught up to me. I smiled as they approached.

"Hey guys. What's up?"

"Andi's having a party a pool party at four, you in?" asked the blonde. "She has like, the nicest pool ever."

I frowned. "If only I could, but I've got to work at my family's surf shop until six." I could see the disappointment take over Naruto's face, and tried to recover. "But if it's still on when I'm done I'll definitely try to stop by."

The blonde visibly perked up. "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "What's your number? I'll forward Sai's text."

My number? As in my phone number? Did this seriously cute guy just ask for my phone number? Slightly dumbfounded, I stuttered out my number, watching as Naruto quickly typed it into his phone. The next thing I knew, my phone began vibrating, letting me know I had received a new text.

"Definitely let me know, I really want you to come!" pleaded Naruto, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "And I think Andi really likes you, so she wants you to come too!"

"I think there's a few more people than Andi that like you, cutie." Said Kiba, smirking.

"I'll see what happens." I shrugged, trying to will away the blush that was creeping up my neck.

"Alright, well I'll see you guys later maybe." I said, waving a quick goodbye before I headed over to the familiar brunette waiting underneath the shade of a large oak tree.

"Hey," Jason said, "you ready to head home?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I've got surf shop duty today."

He frowned, "…That can't be right, it's my week."

"Nuh-uh, Adam texted me on Saturday telling me to come in." I said waving the message on my phone in his face.

Jason swatted it away an annoyed expression on his face. "That ass." He growled, "He tricked us into both working. Probably so he could get some surf time in."

I laughed, and grabbed his hand, "Come on, it'll give us some step-sibling bonding time."

And together we followed the same sidewalks that lead us there in the first place.

* * *

"Okay guys, you can close up now if you want." My step-dad Adam called from the back room of his surf shop.

"Finally." Jason cheered, dropping the swimsuits he was hanging on the racks back into their packaging box. "I think I'm going to hit the waves before it gets dark, you in Lenny?" He asked me, hoisting the box of swimwear off the floor.

I contemplated his offer, remembering that I was invited to Andi's party. I did want to go; I was the new girl and wanted nothing more than to fit in at my new school. But when I looked out at the glistening water I got a rushing sense of nirvana. I could feel the waves dragging me in; hear the sea creatures whispering my name. And all of a sudden I had a craving, a craving that only surfing could satisfy.

"Definitely." I told Jason, closing up the cash register. "Just let me finish cleaning up and we can go-"

The annoying bell that chimed every time someone entered or exited the shop rang. I rolled my eyes, putting down the rolls of coins I had been holding.

"Sorry, but we're closed." I barked at the customers. Couldn't they read? The sign said open from 9AM to 6PM.

"Don't worry, just grab your stuff and we'll get out of here."

I looked up, "Kiba? Naruto? How'd you guys know I worked here?"

"Thank the GPS." Kiba grinned. "You told us you worked at your family's surf shop. We knew it couldn't be that far since you walk to school so we went to the nearest store."

"So come on!" Naruto said, grabbing me by the wrist. "We've got a party to attend!"

I sighed; there went my surfing plans "Alright. Just let me drop by my house to grab a swimsuit."

We crossed the street from the surf shop to my house, walking up the sandy path to my front door. I could smell something delicious being prepared in my kitchen, which made me that much more disgruntled about having to go to Andi's party. I turned and stopped the two boys in their tracks.

"Wait here." I said as I opened my front door. There was no way they we're getting a glimpse of my family. I shut the door behind me, walking into the living room of my new home. I could hear movement from one of the rooms off to the side.

"I'm home!" I called, tossing my bag onto the nearby couch.

"Hey Lena, how was your first day of school?" My mom called from her bedroom located on the main floor of the small two story beach house.

"Good." I called back, racing up the stairs to my room. I grabbed my swimsuit from off the balcony. It was a bit damp from leaving it outside in the rain the other night, but it would have to do. I ran back down to meet Kiba and Naruto at the front door.

"Okay I'm ready, let's get going." I stopped in my tracks. I specifically told them to wait outside; why were they in my house? There was really only one explanation; my mother had gotten to them.

"So you two are Lena's friends?" My mother beamed, leaning against the nearest wall as she spoke to the two teens. They were grinning like idiots.

"Yep, that's us. And you must be Lena's… sister?" Kiba winked cheekily as he spoke. I rolled my eyes as I entered the room.

"Yes mom, that's Kiba and that's Naruto. I met them at school today and we're going to our friend's house to swim. I won't be late." I said, ushering the boys out the door.

"Alright my little sea turtle, call me if you need a ride!" I shook my head as we moved down my front path at a rapid pace, trying to put as much distance between us and my family. I could hear Naruto and Kiba chuckling behind me as I pulled them towards Kiba's truck.

"She seems nice." Naruto smiled as we made our way across the street to where Kiba had parked.

I rolled my eyes. "She is. It's just… she's my mom, you know?"

Kiba chuckled, turning the key and starting up the engine. "Isn't that how it always is. But enough about your mom. We've got a party to rock."

After driving for about ten minutes, Kiba's truck pulled up to a gated community. He flashed a card to a nearby security camera, and the gates opened, allowing him to pull through. The houses inside were enormous. Classical mansions, modern villas, all neatly spaced in rows. We passed by all varieties of luxury homes as we drove down the twisting streets. But soon the houses became sparser and spread out, and as they did, they got much larger and more extravagant. I could smell the ocean coming closer as we continued driving.

Soon, Kiba pulled into a long driveway leading up to a large white mansion. It was a modern house, all angles and huge glass windows. I could hear music playing from inside, as Kiba parked his truck off to the side of the driveway, next to a black Range Rover and a red Ford Fusion.

"Alright, we made it!" said Kiba, shutting off the engine and unbuckling himself.

"It's a wonder we're still alive with you driving the way you do." Naruto teased. Kiba glared over at him.

"Fine. You can walk next time." Naruto's face dropped into a pout.

We all leapt out of the truck, and began walking towards the huge glass panes that were the front doors to the behemoth of a house. Kiba opened the door with ease, allowing us entry inside.

I could hear people talking as we walked through the foyer and into the kitchen. People were seated all around the room, chatting and laughing. Kiba went off to find Andi, but Naruto lead me towards one of the couches in the entertainment area. Some of the other guys had a football game on the TV, but weren't paying very much attention to it. Sasuke, Sai and Alex were deep in conversation about which Tim Burton movie was best, and could not be disturbed.

Naruto got up again, almost as soon as he sat down.

"You want something to drink Lena?" he said, motioning towards the fridge. I nodded and cupped my hands around my mouth. There weren't many people around, but the music was being blasted out of the nearby stereo system.

"Yea, grab me a Coke or something!" He nodded back at me, before moving towards the kitchen. While I waited, I began to take in my surroundings. Andi's house was huge and beautiful, and almost everything was bright, pure white. Almost every wall was covered with a floor to ceiling window, which let tons of natural sunlight in to the room. Naruto returned quickly with our drinks, placing mine in my hand. I took a sip before relaxing back on the couch.

"So, how did you like Konoha High?" he asked, turning to face me on the couch. I palmed my drink between my hands while I thought.

"It's pretty nice. The people I've met so far have been pretty cool, and it's a really nice campus too. I think I'll like it eventually." Naruto smiled at me.

"That's great! I'm glad you like it here." His bright blue eyes were sparkling in the setting sunlight, and they were looking straight into mine. I blushed, suddenly noticing how close he was sitting to me. I was a only slightly relieved when I saw Andi walk into the room with Kiba and head my way. She had already changed into a bright floral bikini, and a pair of light denim shorts hung loosely around her hips. She smiled as she approached.

"Lena! I'm glad you made it." She called out over the music.

"Yeah, I am too." I said, secretly still longing for the oceanic paradise that awaited me back home. "Your house is… amazing."

Andi shrugged, looking around at the stark white house. "You should see our villa in Greece. Now _that's _something to be proud of. And the view there is at least ten times better!"

I gaped at the thought of the existence of something more spectacular than this home. "Is she being serious?" I asked, whispering into Naruto's ear. Kiba must have overheard because he let out a stifled laugh.

"You'll soon learn that rich people are in a class of their own."

Andi punched Kiba in the shoulder playfully. "Shut up! I'm still a normal human being."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Yea, okay. Because all normal human beings have like, 100 houses all over the world." Andi frowned.

"I have nine, okay. And three of them still technically belong to my parents." My jaw was just about on the floor. Maybe a couple of inches away. I was still trying to comprehend all the places she had houses in, when Andi looked down at me.

"Oh, Lena, did you bring a bathing suit? Because we were all going to go swimming pretty soon." I pulled my swim suit of my bag. "Alright, there's a bathroom down the hall across from the living room, you can get changed in there if you want."

"Alright!" I stood up and grabbed my stuff, quickly walking back through the entry way to the kitchen and out into the living room again. The sun was lowering itself, casting a bright orange-red light over the white interior. I could see more doors down a smaller hallway, and made my way towards them. Andi didn't tell me which door was the bathroom did she? I shrugged, not wanting to walk back to ask. I knocked quickly on the door to my left. After a few seconds and no reply, I decided it was safe to open the door.

Much to my luck, I found the bathroom empty. I heaved a sigh of relief as I closed the door behind me, locking it. I stripped, and was in my bathing suit in minutes. It felt like a second skin to me, I had spent so much time in it during the last couple weeks. I stuffed the rest of my clothing back in my bag, quickly checking myself out in the large mirror. The pink and white checkered bathing suit fit nicely across my sun-kissed skin. Satisfied with my appearance, I left the bathroom.

Upon returning to the entertainment room, I found it to be empty. Following the sound of music and voices, I found the large glass doors that lead to her back yard. I walked through a small tropical garden, and when I exited, I found myself facing one of the largest pools I'd ever seen. It was an infinity pool, so the dropped edge made it look like you were swimming right into the ocean itself. Everybody was already hanging around the pool, lounging on couches and chairs, or taking turns going down the twisting waterslide into the pool. I put down my bag on a nearby chair, spotting a familiar brunette across the pool. He noticed me too, waving me over.

"Hey Lena, come here for a minute." Kiba said, a devilish grin plastered on his face.

I walked around the pool to where he was standing. "What's up?"

"Are you a good swimmer?" He asked me, stepping closer to me than I thought comfortable. I nodded.

"Good. 'Cause we're taking a dip!" He hollered, lifting me off the ground and spinning in a circle.

I felt myself falling and took a deep breath, preparing myself for the plunge.

Soon my world was flooded with salt water, my anxious feelings disappearing with my air supply. We floated in silence, moving gently forward through the aquatic world below. Bubbles burst from me mouth, wobbling like little jellyfish as they rose. I could feel my lungs alerting me that our time there was almost done. Kiba grabbed a hold of my hand and together we resurfaced, gasping for air.

I pushed my unruly hair behind my ears, timidly gazing into Kiba's brown eyes. What was this sensation that had suddenly consumed me? Kiba gave me a look of grim satisfaction. "You having fun now?"

I swam closer to him. "Is that what this was all about?"

He shrugged. "I aim to please."

Kiba climbed out of the pool first, shaking himself dry like a dog. I cringed as I was sprayed with a fresh new layer of water.

"Hey! You're getting me all wet." Andi giggled, bringing her arms up to her face for protection. Kiba laughed, now grabbing a towel from a nearby chair.

"So what? You're wearing your swimsuit!"

She rolled her eyes. "That's not the point! I don't actually plan on really swimming very much, I don't want to have to wash my hair again." Kiba grinned that devilish grin again, this time his eyes fixed on Andi. But she had yet to notice, as Naruto had distracted her by making her look as Sasuke was pushed into the pool. He moved quietly, bringing a finger to his lips when he saw me watching, signalling me to keep quiet. I watched as he crept behind Andi, who was still laughing at a very wet Sasuke clamoring out of the pool.

Next thing I saw was Andi being scooped up into Kiba's arms, much like I had. But Andi was experienced with this type of behaviour with Kiba. She let herself be carried right to the pool edge, where she quickly escaped his grasp. In one last attempt to wrestle her into the pool, Kiba grabbed her arms. But Andi was quick to act, and instead of being grabbed, shoved Kiba into the pool by himself with surprising force. She raised her arms triumphantly over her head as Kiba crawled out of the pool soaking wet for the second time.

"I'm going to get you for that one!" he growled playfully, as Andi grinned wildly.

"You'll have to catch me first!" she called, taking off around the pool. Kiba followed quickly after her, chasing her back through the garden and into the house. The sun had already gone down at this point, and people were starting to get out of the pool. I checked my phone, and saw that it was already 8 o'clock. Naruto stood up, stretching his arms up.

"Wanna head back inside Lena?" I took his hand as he helped me up, and we followed the rest of the people back into the house. When we got back inside, we all changed back into regular clothing, and rearranged ourselves in the entertainment room again. Before long, Ino stood up, her keys in her hand.

"Alright, I've gotta head out now. Does anyone need a ride home?" a few people raised their hands, including Sai, Hinata, and Shikamaru. Most of the other people got up and left as well, as their rides had just arrived. That left Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, Alex, and me sitting on the couch, watching Kung Fu Panda 2 on the plasma screen TV that was mounted to the wall. Just then, a brunette I did not recognise walked into the kitchen, carrying a large pizza box.

"Hey guys!" he said, putting the pizza down on the island of the kitchen. "I figured there'd still be a bunch of you hanging around at this time so I picked you up some food."

"Christian, you're the best!" Naruto gushed, as he shot up from his spot on the couch and ran over to the kitchen, tempted by the savoury smell of delicious food. We all followed suit as Christian pulled plates out of one of the cupboards.

"It was no trouble! I didn't really feel like cooking tonight anyways." He laughed, pulling a bottle of wine off a shelf and uncorking it, pouring a healthy amount into a glass. His eyes travelled to me before stopping. "Hello, have we met before?"

Naruto took the liberty of introducing us. "Chris, this is Lena, she's new at school. Lena, this is Chris, Andi's older brother." Christian smiled at me over his wine glass.

"It's nice to meet you Lena. Glad Andi's making more friends at school other than these losers." The boys glared at Christian, but continued to dish out pizza, more concerned with filling their stomachs than defending their egos. I laughed, covering my mouth with my hands.

"It's nice to meet you too, Christian. And I'm glad I became friends with these losers too." Christian laughed, throwing his head back as he did.

"Well at least somebody is!" he looked around at the group again. "Speaking of which, where is Andi? And isn't Kiba usually with you guys too?"

The guys and I looked around, suddenly acknowledging the absence of the two previously mentioned. It had been at least 45 minutes since they ran into the house, and they hadn't been seen since. Christian rolled his eyes, picking up his wine glass from the counter and began walking away from the kitchen.

"You guys can probably figure out where those two lovebirds went." Sighed Christian. "Anyways, I'm going to my studio, so if any of you guys need rides, let me know soon." He waved as he left the kitchen, leaving me and the guys to figure out where Andi and Kiba had disappeared too. Sasuke shook his head, running a hand through his dark raven hair.

"Man, those two need to stop with the freakin' head games and get it on already." He groaned, glaring at the rest of the group. "What? I cannot be the only person thinking that, right?"

Gaara shrugged. "I don't think Andi gets it yet. She may be smart, but she can be pretty dense some times." His voice trailed off as he finished his sentence. Naruto frowned.

"She can't be that dense, can she?" he asked, scratching his head. "Anyways, let's go find them. They're probably hungry too, and if they're upstairs they probably didn't hear Christian get home." We all followed Naruto out of the kitchen. We walked through the living room to a flight of stairs, which we followed all the way up. As we reached the second floor, we could hear the clash of metal and raised voices coming from the room across the cat walk. We followed the noise to an open door, allowing ourselves in.

The lights in the room were off, except for one lamp on the bedside table. The only other light came from a large TV across from the bed where we found out two missing people. Andi and Kiba were curled up on the bed, fully engaged in an intense episode of Game of Thrones. Their eyes barely moved from the screen as we entered the room, mostly with raised eyebrows.

"You guys seriously dipped to watch Game of Thrones?" asked Sasuke, his voice dripping with exasperation. "You guys are actually obsessed."

Andi threw a pillow at Sasuke, her eyes not even leaving the screen. She grabbed her remote, pausing the episode in the middle of a very uncensored sex scene. She turned to look at us, shrugging.

"You guys looked like you were having a pretty good time without us, and today was supposed to be our Game of Thrones night, until Sai decided I was having a party!" she pleaded with us, clasping her hands in front of her face. "Can we just finish this episode, and then we'll be social again? There's only like, 15 minutes left!"

Sasuke shook his head. "Why don't we just grab the pizza from downstairs and watch a movie or something when you're done this episode?"

Andi's eyes went wide. "There's pizza? Since when?"

"Since Christian got home like, ten minutes ago." Laughed Naruto. "He's going back to his studio soon though."

Andi had changed into a pair of tight black leggings and an oversized mint t-shirt which hung loosely from her thin frame. She crawled across the bed, throwing her legs over the side and walked over to the door, poking her head out.

"Thanks for telling me you were home!" she shouted out into the hallway.

There was no reply. Andi rolled her eyes as she re-entered the room. She hopped back on her bed, sitting down next to Kiba again. "So what do you guys want to watch?"

"Star Wars!" Alex shouted.

"No, Pulp Fiction!" chimed in Kiba.

"Inception." Sasuke said, keeping cool with his nonchalant attitude.

Andi shook her head, "All good suggestions but nothing I'm really in the mood for." She said, walking over to a stack of DVDs and BluRays, scanning through them. "Ah! Here we go!"

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Mean Girls!" She smiled, popping the disk in and taking her seat back on the bed.

I shrugged, and took a seat on the floor between Alex and Gaara. Everyone else seemed to be fine with the movie choice so there'd be no point in arguing it.

But fifteen minutes in and I seriously regretted not speaking up. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy, and soon enough I felt my head softly hit Gaara's shoulder, instantly I sat up and scooted over. "Sorry…" I whispered, hoping the darkness would conceal my quickly reddening face.

"It's alright," He murmured back before slanting his body to face mine. "Hey, do you want to get out of here?" He asked me.

"Desperately." I said with a sigh of relief.

"Come on, I'll drive you home." he said, climbing up from the floor where we had been leaning against Andi's bed. I felt something hit the back of my head, and turned around.

"Gaara, get out of the way!" Andi said, throwing more popcorn at the red head.

He brushed the kernels off of his grey cardigan. "We're getting out of here." He announced, motioning to me. "See you guys at school tomorrow."

We waved our goodbyes to the two on the bed, quietly exiting the room as their eyes were still glued to the screen. Andi's house was now quiet and dark as we descended to the main floor and went through the front door. Gaara's silver Mercedes-Benz SLK was next to Kiba's truck, waiting quietly for its owner. I hopped into the passenger seat. Gaara started the engine, and a very familiar song started playing quietly out of the stereo as he started pulling out of the drive way.

"This is Of Monsters and Men, right?" I asked. Gaara nodded, turning out onto the street.

"Yeah, Lionheart. I've been obsessed with them since I heard this song in one of my favourite movies."

I raised an eyebrow. "What movie? You obviously don't like Mean Girls very much."

Gaara smiled a little bit. "You've probably never heard of it, it's called Saturday Silk Run?"

My eyes went wide and I grinned. "Oh my god, you've actually seen Saturday Silk Run?" Gaara took his eyes off the road for a second to stare at me.

"You're kidding me. You're the first person who's ever actually recognised the name!"

"You're the first person who's ever brought it up. Wow, I can't believe I've actually found someone who likes the same weird indie movies as me!" Gaara was really smiling now, and he laughed for the first time tonight.

"Same!" We were nearing my house already, and I was wishing I could spend more time with Gaara tonight. Less than ten minutes alone with him and I had already discovered we had so much in common. He pulled up in front of my beach house and turned to me.

"So, I know we don't really know each other super well yet, but would you maybe wanna come see my band play this Friday?" he asked, scratching his head. "I think you'd like our sound, and some of the people from school are going to be there too, so it'd be awesome if you could come."

I smiled at him. "Sure, I'll just have to check my work schedule, but I think I'll be able too!" Gaara sighed in relief.

"That's great. Here, I'll give you my number so I can text you more details." He grabbed my phone, quickly punching in his number and handing it back. "It was nice hanging out with you Lena!"

"Yea, likewise." I said, stepping out of the car onto my driveway. "I'll text you later then. Thanks for the ride, Gaara."

He waved as he drove off. I watched him drive away down the street, until his lights turned into tiny pin pricks. I walked up the path to my house, still glowing with excitement. It was late, so my parents were already in bed when I slipped through the front door. They wouldn't wake up now, but there was sure to be a stern talking to waiting for me when I woke up tomorrow. I crept up the stairs, entering my room and shutting the door behind me. I flopped down on my bed, ready to pass out.

For the first time in a long time, I could not wait for Friday night.


	5. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, if that wasn't already obvious.**

**Konoha High**

_ANDI_

Friday arrived slowly, as most Friday's do. The school day had been long and boring, considering it was still only the third day of classes, and we were still covering introductory topics and dealing with mountains of necessary paper work. However, it did arrive, bringing a clear blue sky and a delightful light wind with it.

I was able to take advantage of the pleasing weather and wore my new scarf print D&G dress. The breeze played lightly across the cut-out just below my bust, and the silk-twill skirt floated airily around my thighs. Of course all eyes were on me as I strutted down the steps of the school towards the parking lot.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gents!" I exclaimed, greeting the usual crowd with a smile. The gesture was returned with a mix of 'hey's and 'hello's, and a few waves from the particularly quiet. The particularly quiet in this case being the unusually glum looking Naruto. His head was in his hands as he sat on the low brick wall that surrounded the parking lot.

I peered over the tops of my sunglasses at the dejected figure. "Why so glum, chum?" Naruto shrugged and looked away.

"He's just sulking." Sighed Sasuke, not looking up from his phone as he scrolled through his Twitter feed. I raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, better question, why's he sulking? Naruto always has something to say."

"He's jealous that Lena already had plans tonight." Kiba snickered. A vein in my forehead twitched, but I kept my composure. Ino perked up instantly, very interested in the topic.

"Oh?" Ino chimed. "With whom does she have plans with then?"

"Gaara is taking her to see his band play tonight." Kiba said. "Somnambulant Foxes are playing tonight at Spaceland, and his band's opening for them."

"How romantic!" Ino swooned sarcastically, taking a hold of Kiba's hands. "Just think of it, her and him after the concert, _alone_."

"Lena's praising him for the fantastic performance as they step out onto the moonlit dock." Fantasized Kiba sarcastically, glancing at Naruto. His head hung low and his ears were turning red, although we couldn't see his face.

"And then, just as the night ends, Gaara looks her in the eyes and gives-"

"Screw you guys." He grumbled, standing up. "I hate high school." He sulked as he walked away, hopping on his long board and starting towards the bus stop.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "He's such a drama queen."

"And it looks like he's waiting for you." Ino pointed at the blonde, who had stopped at the end of the street, and was looking sadly at his phone.

Kiba looked behind him and shrugged. "I guess I better get going." He said, more to me than to Ino. "I'll call you later Andi. We can hang out or something."

"Yeah, totally." I agreed, smiling at the brunette. "Just let me know."

Kiba waved behind him as he ran off to catch up with Naruto. I waited until he was a safe distance away, turning back to Ino. With the boys gone, I let the bitter scowl I was trying so hard to conceal loose, turning my face from a sweet smile to a sour expression. So the little black bird was already nesting, was she?

"Admit it." Ino badgered. "You're jealous of Lena."

"I am not jealous." I snapped. Ino gave me a knowing look. "Ok, maybe a little bit. But it's more like I feel like she's my rival somehow. I don't get it!"

"It's because you're used to being the center of all the boys attention, and now she's here." I rolled my eyes. Ino might be right but there was no way I was going to let her have the satisfaction. I was sure Ino could tell.

"Don't worry about it. I felt the same way when you first joined our little group, and I'm sure Lena's gone through the same thing with another girl and another gang of boys. It doesn't matter anyways; you'll always be the Queen Bee here."

I frowned at that last bit. "You know I hate being called that." And I did. It made me sound like I thought I really was better than the rest of the girls at school, when in truth I knew I wasn't. I had my demons, just like anyone else. I shook the thoughts that came into my head, returning to my conversation with Ino.

She gave me a pat on the shoulder. "I know, I just like messing with you. Anyways, my ride's here. I'll text you later, okay?"

"Alright, talk to you later then!" I called out, waving to her as she ran to the blue minivan stopped at the curb. I watched her drive away before allowing a devilish grin creep across my face. I wasn't really that concerned about Lena, I mean for one she could have Naruto if she wanted. But I might as well have a little fun while I could.

One quick text to Naruto was all it took. I slid my phone back into my pocket, as I pulled my keys out of my purse. I had to get home and find something to wear, because I was going to see Kid Chino tonight. And I wasn't going alone.

PB

We arrived at Spaceland about 10 minutes before the show was going to start; 10 minutes too late, apparently. We looked down at the main floor from the second floor catwalk of the dark bar. It was packed with hipsters from wall to wall, all of them pressing as close as they could get to the stage at the far side of the room. A low pulsing beat was playing from the stereo, and the voices of at least 100 people drifted up to where we stood.

"Who knew Gaara's band would be so popular?" Kiba muttered, leading the way down the spiral staircase to the main floor.

"Not me." Ino mused, glancing around the room.

"I think most of them are here to see the main attraction." I pointed around the room at multiple fans that were sporting Somnambulant Foxes t-shirts. They vastly outnumbered the Kid Chino fans that were representing their group. But there were a fair amount of black t-shirts with Kid Chino scrawled across the front in light blue around the room. Most of them were already crushed against the front of the stage.

"Hey, I think I see Lena." Said Sasuke, pointing over to a darkened corner by the stage. Sure enough there was the shy brunette standing awkwardly by the stage, as Kid Chino fans pushed and shoved for spots closer to where the band would soon be. We shoved our way to the front, using the boys as our shields, and slowly but surely made it to where Lena was standing, her eyes fixed on the stage.

"Hey, Lena!" shouted Naruto, waving wildly at her, trying to grab her attention. He succeeded, and her face quickly lit up with a smile as she moved towards us.

"Hi! What are you guys doing here?" she asked. She was wearing what looked like a brand new Kid Chino shirt, over a pair of dark denim shorts.

"Probably the same reason you're here." I chimed in, pointing at her shirt. "Gaara's band is opening tonight." Lena nodded happily.

"Yup, that's what I'm here for!" she giggled. "You guys should have told me you were coming, we could have come together."

"Yea, I know!" laughed Naruto, scratching the back of his head. "But whatever, we can hang out now anyways."

The lights were beginning to dim, and the stage lights got brighter. We all turned our attention to the stage, where a drum kit, keyboard, bass, and two guitars were all waiting for their players. The next thing we knew, the band was walking out onto the stage. Gaara walked out first. He was wearing a light burgundy button up shirt, done all the way up, tucked into a pair of dark wash jeans. He had a greyish brown wool beanie on his head as well. He waved at the audience, slinging the bass over his shoulder and prepping for their set. The rest of the band was a year or two older at least, the oldest looking like he could have been at least twenty. They all took their places at their instruments, as the tallest member of the band, a brunette with thick-rimmed black glasses and turquoise cardigan stepped up to the microphone.

"Hey everyone, we're Kid Chino." A rousing chorus of cheers rang out from the audience. A sizable amount of the crowd was clapping as the band waved out at them. "We don't want to keep you waiting, so thank you for coming out and supporting the bands tonight, and enjoy the show!" He smiled, stepping back from the microphone to look at the rest of the band. "2, 3, 4!"

The music was loud in our ears as they started playing, but it was worth it. They sounded better than they had anytime we'd seen them before, but I'm almost certain it wasn't because they had been practising more often. I looked over and Lena was pressed up against the front of the stage again, screaming at the top of her lungs with the best of the fans. We all started cheering as they started into the first song of their set.

Their sound was definitely indie, but it was upbeat for the most part. The brunette took care of most of the vocals, but Gaara occasionally sang parts of songs as well. He had a surprisingly nice voice. Their set only lasted a half hour, but it was a great set to listen to. We were all jumping and cheering the entire time, eventually ignoring the closeness of the speakers to our heads. We were having way too much fun to notice. Gaara's bass was spot on, and he seemed to be having a great time on stage. He truly belonged up there under the lights, in one way or another. He glanced over at Lena every now and then, smiling at her when he caught her eyes.

The set was over almost as soon as it began, or that's what it felt like anyways. Kid Chino waved to the audience, thanking them again for coming out tonight. There was a half hour break between bands, so most of the audience took that opportunity to run to the bathroom or step outside for a smoke break. We walked away from the front of the stage, sweating from the constant contact from the other concert goers. Kiba went to grab us drinks from the bar, and we grabbed a few chairs near the lounge area of the bar away from the stage.

"They were awesome!" Ino said loudly as she sat down on one of the chairs, sinking into it. "I think this was one of their best sets I've seen."

"Totally." I agreed, leaning back on my chair. Kiba brought over a bunch of clear plastic cups, each filled to the brim with a pale amber liquid. I raised my eye brows at him. "Beer?"

"Guess who remembered to bring their fake I.D.?" he grinned, taking a gulp from his own cup. "Drink up guys, first Friday night of the new year!"

"Cheers!" shouted Ino, bumping her cup against mine. I grinned, taking a sip out of my cup. The familiar taste of Pabst Blue Ribbon filled my mouth. I crinkled my nose as I swallowed. "You had to get the most hipster-y beer, didn't you?" I joked. Kiba shrugged.

"It was cheap!" he laughed. I shook my head, taking another sip of my drink. I looked over at Lena, who was taking casual sips from her cup as well.

"So, what'd you think of Gaara's band?" I asked, leaning over to talk to her.

"They were awesome!" she exclaimed, moving closer to me on the couch she was sitting on. "I loved their sound, and the lead singer had some heavy vocals!"

"Yeah, he's great isn't he?" I gushed, "He's super sweet too. Have Gaara introduce you when they come out!"

Just as I said that, a few of the members of Kid Chino wandered out of the stage door, including Gaara and the lead. We waved him over, and he spotted us immediately. He walked over to our group, followed closely by the lead singer. They stopped to talk to a couple of fans on the way over, signing t-shirts and CDs as they went.

"Great show guys!" called out Kiba, as they finally reached our cluster of seats.

"Thanks man." Gaara accepted a high five from him, turning to Lena. "So, what'd you think?"

"You guys were great, I loved it!" she grinned, eagerly eyeing the lead singer. Gaara noticed, and brought him forward.

"Thanks! Anyways, guys, this is Oliver. Oliver, you already know most of the crew, but this is Lena." He pushed Oliver in Lena's direction and he stepped into the circle.

"Hiya, I'm Oliver!" the brunette chirped, with a thick British accent. "So, you enjoyed the show did you?"

"Yeah, it was really, really good! It's the first live show I've been to in a while, and the energy was fantastic!" she took another sip from her cup. Her cheeks were getting a little red, and her beer was almost gone. She continued talking to Oliver for a while, and Gaara walked over to me, a somewhat sour expression on his face.

"Andi." He greeted me with a curt nod. I smiled and waved at the red head, innocently playing with the ends of my hair. "Don't even try to deny it. Why did you bring all the guys to the show tonight?" I could tell Gaara wasn't really happy with me, and I felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of my stomach.

"Well sorry for wanting to support your band." I said sarcastically, standing up from my chair. "I just heard you guys had a show tonight, and decided to invite the guys. How was I supposed to know that you wanted to have Lena all to yourself post-show?"

Gaara glared at me, but sighed, fixing his hat. "Whatever, thanks for coming anyways."

"No problem." I smirked. "Your show _was_ great. And we're not gonna stop you from getting close with Lena tonight." I glanced over his shoulder to where Lena sat alone on the couch, talking to Oliver who was standing next to her. "All you've got to do is get Oliver out of there and then you'll be in the clear."

Gaara shrugged, knowing I would never admit that I was aiming to mess with his date. He walked over to where Lena was sitting, and I followed closely behind him. Little did he know, I wasn't quite finished messing with him. I downed the rest of my beer as I walked, tossing the empty plastic cup into the nearest trash bin. I nodded at Naruto, motioning for him to follow me. We stood off just to the side, as Gaara moved towards the couch.

Oliver saw him coming, and began to wrap up his conversation with Lena. "Well, it's been a pleasure talking to you Lena, but I've got to return to the backstage now. Gotta pack up the instruments and what not." He took Lena's hand, kissing the back of it gently. "Do come to our next show!"

"I'll definitely try!" Lena called as he walked back towards the stage door.

"Be there, or break my heart!"

Gaara quickly took the seat next to Lena, leaning back into the plush velvet. Lena giggled. "Tired?"

"Very." Sighed the redhead, smiling at her. "Doing shows like these can be really draining sometimes."

"I bet." Said Lena, leaning back on the couch. Gaara was about to make his move, and I could sense it. Naruto already knew the plan. I felt bad about playing tricks on Gaara, but it was all in good fun. Kind of. I walked over to the couch, stopping next to Lena. Gaara's attention had been drawn temporarily by a fan on his other side.

"Hey Lena, come to the bathroom with me? I gotta pee."

"Sure!" she chimed, getting up from her spot on the couch, following me towards the bathrooms.

Gaara was all set to make his move. He didn't care that all his friends were here tonight. He wanted to spend some time with Lena, and he was going to do just that. He stretched his arms over his head, faking a yawn as he brought them down, wrapping his right arm around the shoulders of-

"Naruto!?" he cried, jumping back from the blonde, who sat where Lena had been sitting only moments ago. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, and was smirking at the redhead. I laughed quietly to myself, watching the scene unfold behind me as we waited in line for the bathroom. Lena, thankfully, hadn't noticed, and was focused on the next band that was starting to set up on the stage. We entered the bathrooms, finding spots near the rows of grimy mirrors above the sinks. I took out my lipstick, prepping to touch up.

"So, Lena." I said, glancing at her in the mirror next to mine. "What's going on with you and Gaara?"

"What do you mean?" she gave me a quizzical look as she fixed her hair. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I mean, how do you feel about him?" I turned to face her, leaning against the counter. "I mean you guys were technically supposed to be on a date until we kind of crashed it."

Lena's eyes went wide, as she turned to face me. "We… we were?!"

"Come on, you cannot be that dense." The look on her face said otherwise. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing. "Yes, Gaara was under the impression that you two were on a date tonight. Until we showed up and threw off his groove."

I could tell Lena was a little more than distressed. She grew pretty quiet for a few minutes, before returning to the real world. "So… Gaara wanted to go on a date with me… and I said yes…" I laughed. Lena looked so confused, it was almost too much.

"Yeah, that would be what's going on here." I patted her on the shoulder, as she began to blush profusely. "Don't worry about it! You were doing well so far, just keep it up. Gaara really just wants to get to know you. You guys seem to have a lot in common."

"Really?" she looked up at me hopefully. "Because Gaara's been really kind to me lately, I really like him!"

I smiled at her. "Perfect then! Now, let's get you back out there and get this night back on track, okay?"

She smiled at me, nodding cheerfully. "Sure!"

By the time we re-entered the bar, the next band was already on stage. Our group was now watching from the lounge, seemingly uninterested with the group that was on, currently playing an upbeat love song. Kiba had gotten another round of drinks for the group, and Oliver was back as well, chatting happily with Sasuke now. Gaara saw us as we returned, making room on the couch for Lena. She sat accepted the seat, still blushing at the news I had just given her in the bathroom. I grabbed another beer, taking a large gulp of it. I could already feel the effects of the alcohol working on me, although it was just barely. Kiba spotted me standing, and waved me over.

"What's up, pup?" Kiba grabbed my unoccupied hand, yanking me down into his lap. I shrieked as he did, nearly spilling my drink all over the both of us. Laughing, I put my cup down on a nearby table. "What are you doing?!"

Kiba buried his face in the crook of my neck, mumbling something I couldn't understand. His breath tickled my collar bone, and I squirmed in his lap, trying to make myself more comfortable. The band was getting annoyingly loud now, and I turned to the rest of the group.

"Do you guys wanna head out soon?" I called over, cupping my hands around my mouth.

"Sure!" called back Gaara, standing up.

We all left Spaceland with a much higher energy than when we arrived. I don't know if it was the music or the beer but something in there changed us, and changed us for the better. Lena and I were holding onto each other for balance, stumbling as we walked. We still had our drinks in hand as we walked down to the pier. The waves were crashing down below us as we shuffled down the long wooden boardwalk, laughing loudly as we went. We set up camp at a couple of benches near the end of the boardwalk. Oliver had scooped up Lena, and was currently twirling her around in circles.

Kiba came over and sat next to me, resting his head on my shoulder. We watched quietly as Lena and Oliver flirted openly, spinning and twirling around in circles on the pier. All the while Gaara and Naruto sat on the bench opposite us, giving Oliver and endless supply of dirty looks, their arms folded tightly across their chests. I laughed watching the love struck boys in front of me. I quickly checked my phone, noticing the time.

"Aw, crap." I grumbled, sliding the mobile back into my pocket. "It's already 11:30? I'm gonna have to leave soon then." Kiba sighed, standing up next to me.

"Well, I should probably head out too. I'll give you a ride home." I smiled, taking his hand to help myself up. We turned to the rest of the group.

"Alright, we're going to head out now!" said Kiba, waving at the guys. "See you later! Great show tonight Gaara, Oliver!"

"Yea, really good show!" I added, bouncing on my toes next to the brunette. "I'd stay longer to hang out, but I've got some go-see's tomorrow morning."

"Alright, talk to you later!" called Naruto, waving at us.

We began walking back up the pier towards the parking lot of the bar, close enough so that our hands brushed against each other as we walked. I could feel some warmth rising into my cheeks, but I shook it off. I had a lot to drink, it wasn't uncommon to get a little red in the face. Kiba opened the passenger side door to his truck for me, allowing me to hop up into the high seat. He got in his own side, starting up the engine. As he did, quiet acoustic music came on through the stereo. That was my favourite thing about being such good friends with Kiba. We could sit in silence comfortably, and just enjoy music together if we wanted to. There wasn't any need to make conversation if it wasn't necessary.

It only took a few minutes to drive down the coast line, and arrive outside my house. There was only one other car in the driveway, and none of the lights in the house were on. It looked liked Christian was out tonight too. I unbuckled myself, preparing to exit the vehicle, but Kiba stopped me. He had a very familiar grin on his face, although I couldn't remember quite where I'd seen it before.

"So, Andi," he wrapped an arm playfully around my shoulders. "You got any plans on Sunday night?"

"No, not yet. Why, what's up?"

Kiba grinned even wider. "Well, if you're not busy, how about I take you out for dinner?"

"Sure, sounds good to me!" I smiled, grabbing my purse off of the floor of the car. "Text me details later?"

"Perfect!" Kiba exclaimed, "I'll talk to you later then."

I waited until Kiba had pulled out of the driveway, watching the lights from his truck fade as he drove away. I unlocked my front door, climbing up the stairs, past my room, onto the roof top terrace. I dropped down into one of the arm chairs, gazing up at the night sky. Looking up at those stars, I couldn't have been happier. Little did I know, my life would soon be taking a very sudden turn in a different direction.


End file.
